In-line stirling energy system

ABSTRACT

A high efficiency generator is provided using a Stirling engine to amplify an acoustic wave by heating the gas in the engine in a forward mode. The engine is coupled to an alternator to convert heat input to the engine into electricity. A plurality of the engines and respective alternators can be coupled to operate in a timed sequence to produce multi-phase electricity without the need for conversion. The engine system may be operated in a reverse mode as a refrigerator/heat pump.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERAL RIGHTS

This invention was made with government support under contract number DE-AC52-06NA25396 and cooperative agreement DE-FC26-04NT42113 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy, and grant N00014-03-1-0652 awarded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The government has certain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The generation of electrical energy has long been practiced. Generation can be, for example, by coal-fired or nuclear-powered power plants, typically using steam turbines. Hydroelectric generation using dammed up water, large internal combustion engines driving generators, wind generators, photovoltaic electric generation, portable generators and the like are also used. Chemical reactions may also be used to generate electricity or electric current. Each type of generator has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, steam generation is usually accomplished in very large, very heavy equipment particularly with regard to the generator and the steam turbine that drives the generator. Steam generation is typically not portable. Internal combustion engines likewise, to be efficient, are also very large and are typically diesel powered and are prone to vibrating. These too are typically not easily portable. There are portable generators that are small but tend to be relatively inefficient. Generators using internal combustion engines are typically limited to a single type of fuel such as diesel fuel, gasoline, gasoline/alcohol mixtures, or propane. Some stationary units use natural gas. Additionally, generator devices typically have a low power output per unit of volume. For example, a portable generator could have an output of less than about 2 kw/ft³ (based on the volume of alternator, engine and drive train)

While such generating systems are effective for producing electric current, they have their drawbacks, some of which were discussed above. Some of the drawbacks have been improved upon by using a Stirling engine as an energy source to run an alternator forming a generator. An example of a Stirling engine/alternator generator set which utilizes a piston-style Stirling engine to effect relative movement between magnets and coils to generate electricity can be found in the prior art listed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,862. A Stirling engine utilizes external combustion to provide the energy to operate the engine and its coupled driven elements. Problems associated with a piston-style engine is the friction between the pistons and cylinder walls, leakage of gas through the piston-cylinder wall gaps, the presence of moving mechanical parts at high temperature, and the inability to produce multiphase electricity, for example, three phase electricity from the generator without additional equipment to convert single phase to multiphase electricity. The benefits of some types of Stirling engines are their simplicity due to the elimination of or the reduction in the number of moving components while maintaining high efficiency. A typical internal combustion engine is a highly complex mechanical system and has an efficiency of approximately 25% which desirably needs to be improved upon. It would also be desirable, to provide a generator system using an external combustion energy source that can utilize a variety of combustible materials as a source of heat energy, or other non-combustion sources of heat energy such as geothermal energy, as opposed to specific fuel requirements for an internal combustion engine. However, to date, attempts at using Stirling engines for the production of electricity have not been successful particularly when it is desired to generate multiphase electric current without conversion.

Another problem with the use of internal combustion engines which can be used in portable generators or fixed generators, is that they have a tendency to vibrate and produce noise, both at the exhaust and in their normal vibrations from moving parts. While these can be reduced, they require expensive muffler systems and vibration damping systems. Also, as mentioned above, such engines are fuel specific, mechanically complex, and they have a significant amount of friction associated with their moving components resulting in inefficiencies.

It would thus be desirable, to provide a balanced Stirling engine system that can be used to generate electric current utilizing external combustion or other external energy sources to provide a source of energy. It would also be desirable, to provide an electric current generator system that utilizes a Stirling engine to provide the motive driving energy for an alternator and that the generator system can be configured for multiphase electric current output without the need for conversion equipment. Alternatively, the system may be operated in reverse to function as a refrigerator/heat pump.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention involves the provision of the combination of a Stirling engine core in combination with an energy conversion device. A Stirling engine includes an engine core having a pair of heat exchangers preferably in combination with a heat transfer device. There are a plurality of engine cores and a plurality of power conversion devices operably coupled together to provide the Stirling engine system. The various engine cores each cooperate with an energy conversion device to operate in a timed sequence relative to one another so that operating forces are balanced to reduce vibration. In one embodiment of the Stirling engine system, the system may be used to generate electricity and while in another configuration and operating mode, the engine system can be used to operate as a refrigerator/heat pump.

The present invention involves the provision of an electric current generator that utilizes a Stirling engine to drive an alternator to form a generator (or generator set). Preferably, the generating system is configured to produce muti-phase current of a desired number of phases naturally without conversion. Also, in a preferred embodiment, a Stirling engine uses a non-piston drive system to operate its respective alternator. In an additional preferred embodiment, the electric current generating system will operate at a power density output of at least about 20 kw/ft³. The invention also involves the provision of a method of generating multiphase electric current utilizing a plurality of Stirling engines coupled together in a single system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation sectional schematic view of one form of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one portion of the generating system seen in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the generating system seen in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a phasor diagram of the operation of one form of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one form of alternator used in the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation schematic view of a first alternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation schematic view of a second alternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a heat exchanger.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary side sectional view of one generator section.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of an alternate alternator .

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a series of generator systems connected together.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary side elevation schematic view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Like numbers throughout the various Figures designate like or similar parts and/or construction as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention. The reference numeral 1 designates generally a Stirling engine system comprising an external pressure vessel or housing 3. Inside the pressure vessel 3 is an acoustic shell 5 containing a plurality of Stirling engines each designated generally 7 and coupled to a respective energy conversion device 8 such as an alternator device designated generally 9. A launching or starting device such as a launching compressor 11 is provided which initiates the propagation of an acoustic wave at the desired frequency through the various Stirling engines 7. The Stirling engines 7 preferably operate at a frequency in the range of between about 40 Hz and about 1000 Hz. Each alternator 9 includes a driven element 14. Between each Stirling engine 7 and respective energy conversion device 8 is a thermal zone 12 to thermally isolate, e.g., a work conversion device such as a driven element 14, from a respective Stirling engine 7. An engine core 16, shown being encompassed in broken lines in FIG. 2, is formed from the combination of Stirling engine 7, thermal buffer zone 12, and energy conversion device 8.

The Stirling engine system 1 as described herein can be used to generate an energy output from an energy input, for example, to generate an electric current. The system 1 may be also operated in reverse and by providing an energy input, say in the form of an electric current to operate the system 1 as a refrigerator or heat pump. In common with both forms of operation, is the use of a plurality of Stirling engines each having an energy conversion device 8 and a pair of heat exchangers 23, 25 described below. The first embodiment described below will be that for an electrical current generator and the second embodiment will be that for operating the Stirling engine in “reverse” function, for example, as a refrigerator/heat pump. The construction of the apparatus is substantially the same whether operated in a “forward” mode or in a “reverse” mode.

Stirling engines are provided heat energy from an external combustion or energy source 18 (shown schematically in FIGS. 1, 11) which may be any suitable energy source for example, a gas burner (e.g., propane), a trash incinerator, fuel oil or the like. Other sources of heat, such as geothermal, solar power, waste heat, nuclear power, or radioactive decay, may also be used. The energy supply 18 preferably is operable to heat a heat exchange medium, for example water, which is conveyed to the various engines 7 through a piping system designated generally 19 (shown schematically in FIGS. 1, 11).

The pressure vessel 3 contains pressurized fluid, for example a gas such as helium, at a pressure in excess of about 15 psia (absolute pressure) and preferably in the range of between about 200 psia and about 2000 psia. The pressurized fluid is contained throughout the pressure vessel 3 including inside the acoustic shell 5. Because the pressure is substantially equal on opposite sides of the acoustic shell 5, the acoustic shell can be a thin walled vessel. The space 22 between the pressure vessel 3 and the acoustic shell 5 may be filled with a thermal insulating material with interstitial space to permit pressurized fluid to be contained therewithin. Such thermal insulation can be a fibrous type thermal insulation to reduce heat loss from the acoustic shell to the exterior of the pressure vessel 3. The pressure vessel 3 and the acoustic shell 5 can be made out of any suitable material. For example, the pressure vessel may be made from mild steel and the acoustic shell may be made from stainless steel. The alternators 9 and Stirling engines 7 are contained within the acoustic shell 5 as seen in FIG. 1, and are preferably configured in a linear array i.e., one core 16 and alternator 9 is superimposed upon an adjacent core 16 and alternator 9 sharing a common central axis.

A Stirling engine 7, in the illustrated structure, includes a first heat exchanger 23 positioned in overlying relationship to a respective regenerator 24 which are both in turn in overlying relationship to a second heat exchanger 25 having generally parallel transverse central planes. The regenerator 24 may be a stack of woven wire screens that provide for intimate contact between the fluid contained within a generator core 16 and the regenerator 24. A woven metal wire screen has been used successfully in such engines. On opposite sides of the regenerator 24 are the heat exchangers 23, 25. The heat exchanger 23 is an ambient or cool heat exchanger while the heat exchanger 25 is a hot heat exchanger for forward operation. Preferably, the ambient heat exchanger 23 is positioned above the regenerator 24 and the hot heat exchanger 25 is positioned below the regenerator in each generator core 16. Further, the linear array of Stirling engines 7 is a preferably vertically oriented array where the central axis of each of the Stirling engines is generally vertical. The heat exchangers 23, 25 may be similar in construction and may be made from a stack of photochemically etched stainless steel sheets that are diffusion bonded together. The sheets may be on the order of about 0.030 inches thick and each heat exchanger may contain approximately 500 sheets. A first set of sheets A is etched from one side to form the flow channels for the gas contained within the vessel while a similar process may be performed on a second set of sheets B to form channels for conducting flow of coolant (cool heat exchange medium) for example, water (FIG. 8). The sheets A, B are alternately stacked and diffusion bonded together forming a hermetic seal between the channels in sheet A and the channels in sheet B and to the outside of the heat exchangers. Feed and drain systems may be provided outside the acoustic shell for the flow of coolant and hot heat exchange medium to the respective heat exchangers. Each generator core 16 occupies a volume of high aspect ratio of at least about 2:1, i.e., large width to height. The frequency of operation is inversely affected by the height H of an engine core 16 and power is directly affected by the width W of an engine core. Additionally, the higher the operating frequency, the shorter the height H and the smaller the volume that an engine core 16 needs to occupy to operate. The width W of a chamber 12 may be on the order of 2 to 24 inches, depending on generator power capacity while the height H may be on the order of 1 to 12 inches depending on generator frequency. In a preferred embodiment, the transverse cross-sectional shape of the acoustic shell 5 is generally round while the shape of the acoustic shell is generally cylindrical wherein the width W is the diameter of the shell 5. The sheets comprising the heat exchangers may be rectangular providing space between the interior of the acoustic shell 5 and the generator core 16 for fluid (heat exchange medium) flow conduits.

Each Stirling engine 7 has an energy conversion device 8 which includes a respective alternator 9 coupled thereto. The device 8 is operable to convert energy input from an engine 7 in the form of mechanical work into an electric current output in forward operation. Any suitable alternator 9 may be used and may include a combination of coils and magnets or the like. For purposes of generating electricity, an alternator 9 is any device that converts work output of an engine 7 to electricity. A preferred alternator is a piezoelectric alternator. A preferred piezoelectric alternator is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/492,311, US Publication No. 2007/0090723, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. As best seen in FIGS. 5, 10 the alternator 9 includes a plurality of individual piezoelectric elements 31 coupled to a flexible diaphragm 30. The driven element 14 includes a diaphragm 30 as described above. A series of pressure waves such as cyclic acoustic waves flex the diaphragm 30 causing the piezoelectric elements 31 to generate electric current. Each acoustic pressure oscillation generated by a cycle of a generator core 16 applies force to a diaphragm 30 which then oscillates along the central axis of the acoustic shell and the central axis of an engine 7 (see FIG. 9). When the diaphragm 30 moves away from its equilibrium position, a radial tension is generated that pulls in on the piezoelectric elements 31 around the perimeter of the alternator 9. The radial tension is converted into compression applied through the piezoelectric elements 31 between keystones 32. The diaphragm 30 oscillates to both sides of its equilibrium position with both excursions resulting in compression of the piezoelectric elements 31 associated therewith. This results in a doubling of the electrical frequency relative to the acoustic frequency provided by the generator cores 16. The arrows 33 (FIG. 9) show a representative deflection distribution of a diaphragm 30. Each displacement of the diaphragm 30 in alternator 9 results in a fixed amount of electrical energy being generated. A higher operating frequency of a diaphragm 30, results in a larger amount of electrical energy being produced per unit time. The higher the operating frequency of the diaphragms 30 and the generator cores 16, results in a corresponding shorter, lower mass, more power dense generator. An alternate to the diaphragm form of generator is the use of magnets and coils which may be coupled to a respective generator core 16, for example, through a piston or through a diaphragm.

An acoustic wave launching compressor 11 is provided at the top end of the apparatus 1. The wave launching mechanism is operable to produce acoustic pressure waves at a desired frequency, for example, 400 Hz. These pressure waves are then amplified by each of the generator cores 16 producing a response in each of the driven elements for example, the diaphragms 30. The Stirling engines 7 each amplify a wave passing through its respective regenerator 24 with the amplification being effected by energy supplied from the heated medium flowing through the hot heat exchanger 25 associated with a respective Stirling engine. By way of example, if a 100 watt wave travels through regenerator 24, it can be amplified to a 300 watt wave prior to it impinging on a respective generator diaphragm 30. Two hundred watts of power would be extracted by the diaphragm 30 leaving 100 watts of power to activate the succeeding generator core 16 and so down the array of engines 7 until a wave reaches the bottom generator core 16. At this point, one more terminating alternators 37, with suitable gaps between them, are used to extract the amplified acoustic energy, convert this energy to electrical energy, and provide the necessary acoustic termination to prevent reflection of the acoustic wave back through the array of generator cores 16. In the preferred embodiment, the electrical energy extracted by these terminating alternators 37 is used to power the launching compressor 11. This example does not include losses due to thermal and viscous effects in the gas, but shows the operating principle. In one form of wave generating launching mechanism 11, an alternator 9 as described above may be used but operated in reverse i.e., the piezoelectric material energized to force the diaphragm 30 to vibrate i.e., pulse up and down (back and forth).

Acoustic feedback could be used to provide the initial acoustic wave instead of the launching compressor 11. In this embodiment, the launching compressor 11, one or more of the terminating alternators 37, and the electrical connection between them is removed and replaced by a pipe 38 (FIG. 6) that is approximately one wavelength long or integer multiples of wavelengths long, for example one wavelength, two wavelengths, three wavelengths . . . . Deviations from integer multiples of a wavelength will be small and are due to dissipation of acoustic energy in the pipe 38. By way of example, if helium is the fluid contained within the acoustic shell 5 and the pressure vessel 3, and the generator 1 is to be operated at a frequency of 400 Hz then the one wavelength long pipe would be 2.56 meters at a temperature of 30° C. The diameter or the cross-sectional area of the pipe 38 may need to be selected in order to minimize dissipation losses in the pipe.

FIG. 7 shows a second feedback arrangement for a generator 1 which utilizes two generator sections designated 1A, 1B for clarity, which would operate in parallel and be synchronized in operation to one another via two connecting pipes 38A and 38B. These pipes have a length of ½ wavelength or multiples thereof depending on the phase for operation between the two generators sections 1A, 1B. To run 180° out of phase between the two generators, the pipes would be ½, 1½(3/2), 2½(5/2), 3½(7/2) . . . , wavelengths long. To run the two generator sections in phase, the pipes would be 1, 2, 3 . . . wavelengths long. In the embodiments in FIGS. 6 and 7, the elimination of the terminating alternator 37 yields an acoustic wave with residual acoustic energy that is fed back through pipe(s) 38 (38A and 38B) to the input at the initiating end of the linear arrays 1A and 1B of cores 16. This input acoustic wave allows for the elimination of the launching compressor 11.

The above described generator 1 has been modeled in a computer using the DeltaE modeling software which is available from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The ambient heat exchanger 23, has optimum helium and water channel widths 40,41 that depend on operating frequency. According to the DeltaE model of a generator operating at a frequency of 400 Hz and a helium pressure of 1160 psia absolute, the optimum helium and water channel widths 40, 41 respectively are 190 μm and 156 μm respectively. In the hot heat exchanger 25, the same DeltaE model predicts the optimum helium and water channel widths 40, 41 respectively to be 240 micrometers and 188 micrometers respectively. An optimum porosity for both the ambient and hot heat exchangers 23, 25 respectively is approximately 0.13. It is contemplated that the heat exchangers would be made by a diffusion bonded printed circuit board technique to provide the desired dimensions and layouts. FIG. 8 shows an enlarged fragmentary view of such a heat exchanger wherein the heat exchanger is made from a stack of alternating plates A and B. Both type plates A, B are approximately 0.030 inches thick and can be made of Inconel 625 or other suitable material. The plates may be photochemically etched to produce grooves 0.1 inches wide and 0.0061 inches deep in plate A and 0.0075 inches deep in plate B. The heat exchanger would be made of approximately 250 pairs of plates, and they may be joined by diffusion bonding in a vacuum furnace.

The design of the regenerator 24 is such that the typical pore size is several times smaller than the thermal penetration depth of the gas in the generator core, for example, helium at the operating frequency. This improves thermal contact between the gas and the regenerator solid. The thermal penetration depth is the distance over which the heat can diffuse through the gas in about one quarter of an acoustic cycle. The gas absorbs and rejects heat via thermal contact with the regenerator 24 forcing the gas to thermally expand and contract at the right times relative to the pressure oscillations caused by the acoustic waves in a core 16. When properly timed by the intimate thermal contact between the gas in the regenerator 24 and the regenerator solid, these expansions and contractions result in an amplification of the acoustic energy carried by the acoustic wave. This process is indicated by the transition from the first to the second phasor plot in FIG. 4. The penetration depth in the ambient temperature helium at 1160 psia absolute pressure at 400 Hz operating frequency is about 50 μm and the optimum hydraulic radius in the regenerator 24 is about 15 μm. The porosity for a regenerator 24 for 400 Hz operating engine using helium is on the order of about 0.72.

Each core 16 is provided with a thermal buffer zone 12. The purpose of the thermal buffer zone 12 is twofold. The volume of the zone 12 is designed to adjust the phase of the volumetric flow rate phasor for the alternator diaphragm 30 so that it lags the pressure phasor by approximately 45° for a four-phase operating system as shown by the transition from the second to third phasor plot in FIG. 4. This allows the inertial impedance of the diaphragm 30 to rotate the pressure phasor by 90° while maintaining the same pressure amplitude as shown by the transition from the third to fourth phasor plot in FIG. 4. In a three phase generator system, the pressure phasor will be set to 60° and the phase rotation of the pressure would be 120°. A phasor diagram for a four phase output current from the generator system without conversion of the electrical current is shown in FIG. 4. The thermal buffer zone 12 also allows the acoustic energy to flow away from the hot heat exchanger 25 while limiting heat leakage from the hot heat exchanger due to the boundary-layer transport, conduction, and radiation leaks. The thermal buffer zone 12 encompasses the volume inside a core 16 between the hot heat exchanger 25 and the respective diaphragm 30.

In a 400-Hz, four phase configuration of the generator 1, the thermal buffer zone 12 has a height of about 1 inch which is about 7.5 times the peak-to-peak gas displacement in the thermal buffer zone. In more traditional designs, the thermal buffer zone 12 has a length on the order of 3 to 6 times the peak-to-peak displacement. For three phase current, the thermal buffer zone 12 would have a height that is even larger than the 7.5 value above. The longer thermal buffer zone 12 allows for better thermal isolation between the hot heat exchanger 25 and the diaphragm 30. The volume contained between diaphragm 30 and the following ambient heat exchanger 23 is selected to provide the appropriate amplitude and phase of the volumetric flow rate phasor so that it is substantially equal to the flow rate phasor at the input to the engine core but rotated by a desired phase angle for example 90° for a four phase generator. This is shown by the transition from the fourth to fifth phasor plot in FIG. 4. It is desired that the side wall of the acoustic shell be thick enough to contain the oscillations of the gas therewithin and to allow the diaphragm 30 to properly operate.

The operating frequency of the generating system is substantially self-regulating with the components being tuned to provide the desired operating frequency. By providing a linear array of cores 16 that create an integer number of 360 degree rotations of the pressure phasor, vibration in the generating system 1 will be low. For example, in a three-phase configuration, the number of generators cores 16 should be 3, 6, 9, and so on to achieve low vibration. In a four phase configurations, the number of cores 16 should be 4, 8, 12, and so on to achieve low vibration.

The electrical power output density of the apparatus 1 is preferably at least about 20 kw/ft³ based on the volume of the pressure vessel/housing 3.

The present invention is better understood by description of the operation thereof.

The pressure vessel 3 is pressurized preferably using helium gas to fill the space outside and inside the acoustic shell 5. The wave launching device 11 initiates a pressure oscillation and thereafter maintains a desired oscillation rate, for example, 400 Hz. An acoustic traveling wave is projected into the ambient end of the first (top as shown) core 16 and then the subsequent cores 16 from the respective upstream adjacent core 16. The temperature gradient imposed on the regenerator 24 by the heat exchangers 23, 25 amplifies acoustic energy carried by the induced traveling wave. By passing through the regenerator 24, the wave is amplified and energy is put into the wave which is then extracted by a respective alternator 9, e.g., the diaphragm 30 and its associated piezoelectric transduction elements 31 for forward operation. As the wave propagates through the ambient heat exchanger up the temperature gradient in the regenerator 24 and then through the hot heat exchanger 25, it rejects waste heat into the ambient cooling coolant stream. The wave is amplified by the temperature gradient in the regenerator 24 by the gas absorbing high temperature heat from the hot fluid stream in heat exchanger 25. The acoustics of each of the cores 16 and alternators 9 are designed to rotate the phase of the pressure and volume flow rate phasors by the same amount so that the relative phase between the pressure and flow rate is the same as the input to a second core 16. The magnitude of the rotation will be determined by the number of phases of electric current that it is desired to be generated naturally within the generator system 1. Near the bottom of a regenerator 24, the volume flow rate and pressure phasors are nearly in phase which is advantageous from the standpoint of maximum power transmission with minimum viscous loss and acoustically transported heat leaks. The volume flow rate is conserved through the respective diaphragm 11, but the moving mass of the diaphragm generates a pressure drop that lags the volume flow rate by about 90°. By selecting the right diaphragm mass, the magnitude of this drop may be tuned to rotate the pressure phasor by 90° or any other suitable phase angle as desired.

FIG. 12 shows a further alternative embodiment of the present invention, which can be advantageous when the goal is to use the least number of cores 16 while maintaining adequate vibration balance. Two cores 16A and 16B operate approximately 180° out of phase with each other. Acoustic energy leaving the bottom of generator core 16A is coupled to the top of generator core 16B through waveguide 40 (a pipe or conduit and shown as serpentine in shape). Similarly, acoustic energy leaving the bottom of generator core 16B is coupled to the top of generator core 16A through waveguide 41 (a pipe or conduit and shown as serpentine in shape). An acoustic wave circulates around the loop composed of cores 16A, 16B and waveguides 40, 41. The geometry of waveguide 40 is designed so that in combination with core 16A, the acoustic wave goes through a 180° phase shift at the desired operating frequency as it propagates between the top of core 16A, through waveguide 40, to the top of core 16B. Similarly, the geometry of waveguide 41 is shaped to cause the circulating acoustic wave to go through 180° of phase shift as it propagates between the top of core 16B through waveguide 41 to the top of core 16A. Most of the moving mass that contributes to the vibration of the overall generator system 1 is located in diaphragms 30. By arranging the loop to have the two cores 16A and 16B physically in-line and operating 180° out of phase, these principle vibration components can be substantially canceled.

Stirling engines can also be used in a reverse mode, as a refrigerator or heat pump that accepts mechanical or acoustical work from device 8 and pulls in heat energy at a low temperature and rejects heat at a higher temperature in the heat exchangers 25, 23 respectively, rather than as heat engines that produce mechanical or acoustical work by accepting heat at a high temperature and rejecting heat at a lower temperature. Many electro-acoustic transducers, whether they use combinations of magnets and coils or whether they use piezoelectric elements, can also be used in the reverse sense, able to deliver mechanical or acoustical work from input electrical energy, rather than producing electrical energy from mechanical or acoustical work. The diaphragms 30 function as compressors to provide work input. Thus the Stirling engines 7 disclosed herein may also be used as Stirling refrigerators. The alternators 9 may be instead used as energy input devices like a compressor that accepts electrical energy and generates acoustical energy. The ambient heat exchangers 23 remain ambient heat exchangers 23. But what were hot heat exchangers 25 become refrigerator heat exchangers 25 instead, operating below ambient temperature. What were Stirling engines 7 now function as Stirling refrigerators. What were generator cores 16 are now refrigerator cores 16. Refrigerated heat exchangers 25 are connected by piping system 19 to heat source 18, heat source 18 now being below ambient temperature, for example it may be a refrigerated box. Acoustical energy flows through the pressurized working fluid contained in housing 3 in the same direction regardless of whether Stirling engine system 1 is used as a generator or as a refrigerator/heat extractor.

A general way to understand the operation of the devices presented herein is to appreciate that a linear array of generator or cores 16 comprise a sequence of masses and springs. Because of the volume of gas within them, the engines 7 present an acoustic reactance equivalent to a lumped compliance or a spring. The alternators 9 present an acoustic reactance of a mass. As is well known to those skilled in the art, a sequence of masses and springs supports a traveling acoustic wave of pressure and volume flow rate. The geometry of the engines 7 and the mass of the diaphragms 30 are adjusted so that an integer number of 360° cycles of the wave occur in the linear array of cores 16 to achieve vibration balance of the array at the desired operating frequency. Acoustic energy travels through the linear array, energy being inserted by the engines 7 or diaphragms 30 with a balancing amount of energy being removed by the alternators 9 or engines 7. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various acoustical elements may be substituted for the engines 7 or alternators 9 and still maintain an integer number of acoustical wavelengths in the linear array of elements and thus maintain the vibration balance of the system as a whole. It may also be appreciated that various useful devices may be made by mixing and matching various types of elements in a linear array. For example a heat driven device could be made that both generates electricity and refrigeration with appropriate combinations of Stirling engines 7 and alternators 9 in a single system 1. Some elements that may substitute for the acoustic mass of the alternators 9 are constrictions, short tubes, and dummy diaphragms or pistons without electrical generating capabilities. Some elements that may be substituted for the compliance of the engines 7 include passive chambers of working fluid, or diaphragms and pistons whose motion is dominated by stiffness restoring forces rather than their mass. Various lengths of traveling wave tubes may also be substituted for combination of lumped masses and springs.

Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel invention. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow. 

1. A Stirling engine energy conversion system comprising: a plurality of Stirling engines positioned in a linear array and each including a hot medium heat exchanger, a relatively cool medium heat exchanger and a regenerator; a plurality of driven members with at least one driven member being on each of opposite sides of at least some of the Stirling engines; and a plurality of energy conversion devices each operably coupled to at least some of the driven members and operable to at least one of extract mechanical energy from the driven member and convert the extracted energy to electrical energy and convert received electrical energy and input mechanical energy into the driven member.
 2. The energy conversion system of claim 1 wherein the driven members including diaphragms.
 3. The energy conversion system of claim 2 wherein the energy conversion devices including piezoelectric elements each operably coupled to a respective said diaphragm.
 4. The energy conversion system of claim 2 wherein the energy conversion devices being operable to effect movement of a respective said diaphragm and the system being operable to extract heat energy from the cool medium heat exchanger.
 5. The energy conversion system of claim 2 wherein the energy conversion devices each being driven by a respective said diaphragm and generate electrical current and the system being operable to extract heat energy from the hot medium heat exchanger.
 6. An electricity generator comprising: a plurality of Stirling engines each including a hot medium heat exchanger, a relatively cool medium heat exchanger and a regenerator; a driven member on each of opposite sides of at least some of said Stirling engines; an alternator operably coupled to each of the engines through a driven member to produce electrical energy upon an acoustic pulse being amplified by the respective Stirling engine; and an initiating pulse generator operably coupled to at least one said Stirling engine to effect operation of the Stirling engines at a predetermined frequency.
 7. The generator of claim 6 wherein the driven members each including a diaphragm.
 8. The generator of claim 7 wherein at least some of said diaphragms being operably connected to a respective said alternator.
 9. The generator of claim 8 wherein the alternators being operable during operation of the Stirling engines to produce multiphase electricity.
 10. The generator of claim 9 wherein the multiphase electricity being three phase.
 11. The generator of claim 6 including a housing enclosing the Stirling engines, driven members and alternators said Stirling engines being arranged in a linear array with a first Stirling engine at one end of the array and a second Stirling engine at the other end of the array and an acoustic waveguide extending between opposite ends of the housing to transfer an acoustic wave output of the second Stirling engine to the input of the first Stirling engine.
 12. The generator of claim 6 including a pair of housings each having a first end and second end and enclosing a plurality of said Stirling engines, driven members and alternators and including a first waveguide extending between a first end of one said housing and a first end of a second said housing and a second waveguide extending between a second end of said one housing to a second end of said second housing.
 13. The generator of claim 8 wherein the alternators each including a piezoelectric device coupled to a respective said diaphragm.
 14. The generator of claim 8 wherein each said Stirling engine being positioned between a pair of said diaphragms each providing work output in response to acoustic waves from a respective said Stirling engine.
 15. The generator of claim 14 wherein there being at least four Stirling engines and at least four diaphragms.
 16. The generator of claim 15 wherein the electricity from each of the alternators being phased relative to one another by operation of the Stirling engines.
 17. The generator of claim 6 having an electrical output power density of at least about 20 kw/ft³.
 18. A method of producing phased electricity, said method comprising: operating a plurality of alternators with a plurality of Stirling engines interconnected in a linear array, the electricity output of the first alternators being phased relative to one another to produce a combined output current with at least three phases.
 19. The method of claim 18 including driving the alternators each with a respective Stirling engine with a respective diaphragm.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the output current being three phase as generated.
 21. The method of claim 18 including generating at least 20 kw/ft³ of space occupied by a pressure vessel enclosing the Stirling engines and alternators.
 22. The method of claim 18 wherein the alternators including piezoelectric elements to generate electricity.
 23. The method of claim 18 wherein the Stirling engines operating at a frequency in the range of between about 40 Hz and about 1,000 Hz.
 24. The method of claim 22 wherein the Stirling engines operating at a frequency in the range of between about 10 Hz and about 2,000 Hz. 